Coffee please?
by brokenflower
Summary: Second in the "Love and Coffee" trilogy. When Rory is paired with Tristan for a class project she finds out that sometimes, people can surprise you. A little T/R, more L/L, and a Stars Hollow party to remember. Finished.
1. Who are you?

Author's Note: Okay first off don't own anything so don't sue

Author's Note: Okay first off don't own anything so don't sue. Second sorry for misspelling Lorelai's name in my last story but my spell check automatically changed it to that on accident. Third, this is a sequel to "Love and Coffee" so ya kinda have to read that before you read this. Anyways, enough talk, read on!

"Mooomm!!!!!!!!!" Rory yelled to her mother in a whiny voice. "We're going to be even later than usual! We still have to pick up Luke!"

It was only four days after Lorelai and Luke had confessed their feelings for each other and while the town was a buzz with new news on the couple there were two very important people who hadn't been informed of the couples' union, Emily and Richard Gilmore.Friday night dinner was when Lorelai planned on telling her parents but in the short four days it took for Friday to get there Lorelai had lost her nerve. To make matters worse, Lorelai had invited Luke to come along with the girls (when she still had the courage) and was now regretting it immensely. 

"Do we have to go tonight? Can't we say that we have other plans? Or better yet we can call them on the cell phone and tell them that on our way we got hit by a deer!" Lorelai complained as she walked slowly down the stairs.

"How would getting hit by a deer help get out of Friday dinner?" Rory asked skeptically all the while pushing her mother to walk faster as they made their way out the door and to the car.

"Well, we can say we have to search the woods looking for the deer."

"No."

"Meanie."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get to the diner to meet Luke and then go to Hartford, please?" 

"Fine, Luke better have some coffee waiting."

Ten minutes later… 

"I can't believe you didn't have any coffee for us!" whined Lorelai.

"Coffee is bad for you." Luke replied simply.

"Evil."

"Did you know that just one cup of coffee can harden your arteries for three hours?"

"Luuuuukkee! I thought I would get unlimited coffee out of you when we started going out!" 

"I never promised anything." Luke smiled very amused by the situation.

"Yes you did! Remember, love and coffee it's a beautiful thing!" Lorelai said quoting from memory the words that were exchanged the night they got together looking over at him as she said it.

"Can you keep your eyes on the road please?"

"Only if you give me coffee!"

"No!"

Rory laughed to herself from the backseat. _'Who needs cable when you've got this kind of entertainment?'_ she thought to herself. The relationship was still very new to all of them but Rory liked the picture that the moment was painting in her mind right then. They were driving together for dinner like a family, a real family, a loving one. She could even imagine herself calling Luke "Dad". _'I wonder what he would think of that?'_

"Please, please, please, please, please????" 

"No, no, no, no, and hmmm…let's see…no!"

"I want coffee!" Lorelai whined sounding very much like a child in a toy store demanding a toy.

"What am I supposed to do? We're driving! Do you think I carry coffee in my pocket? I couldn't give you coffee right now if I wanted to!" Luke exclaimed with laughter in his voice.

"Oh…oops…I forgot about that." 

Rory smiled, she had never seen Luke that happy before. Every time she saw him he always had a smile on his voice, a skip in his step, and a cheerful tone. At first she thought of the new Luke as very scary given she was so used to the old somewhat cynical Luke but he had toned down his cheerfulness after seeing how much it scared all of Stars Hollow as well and found a happy medium between the two. 

'I wonder if I'll ever find someone. Someone who I can have a friendly banter with that will keep me on my toes and will do sweet things for me like bringing me coffee, or someone who I can open up to. A boyfriend who is more than that, a guy who is my best friend too. I wonder.'

"Okay we're here!" Lorelai's voice said interrupting Rory's thoughts.

"Wow, so this is the place huh?" Luke asked as they got out of the car and walked towards the door.

"Yeah."

"Hey mom, does Grandma know Luke is coming too?"

"Um…well…you see…" Lorelai stammered.

"You didn't tell her?" Luke asked shocked.

"Well…I meant to." she replied sheepishly. "Here goes nothing." she said as she rang the doorbell.

Seconds later Emily answered the door.

"Hi mom!" Lorelai greeted with forced cheerfulness.

Emily looked past her and stared at Luke.

"Who are you?" was her reply. 

AN: Well that just about sucked didn't it? Oh well, maybe you liked it better than I did. Please review and no flames please. Also if you want to see anything between Rory and Tristan review with your pick. Think of it as a contest, whoever gets the most votes wins. Then you're happy and I'm happy cuz I'll get reviews. 


	2. It's Luke

Author's Note: Okay as usual I own nothing

Author's Note: Okay as usual I own nothing. Also this will be a Trory story, mind you it won't focus solely on them, I'll make it just as much Luke/Lorelai if not more than a trory paring. In addition I want to send my condolences and prayers to all who were somehow affected by the tragedy that had shocked the nation. I don't know if anyone cares or wants to know but my birthday is September 11 so it was a sort of bittersweet day for me. Anyways, read on.

"Who are you?" Emily asked bluntly.

"Mom, this is Luke, remember he was at Rory's birthday party. You even talked to him at the hospital when Dad was sick." Lorelai explained.

"Oh, goodness he looks different. This is the first time I've seen him out of flannel and not wearing a hat." she pointed out. 

Everyone turned to look at Luke, true to her word Luke was not dressed in his normal attire. He wore a semi-casual pair of slacks and sweater with the white collar of his shirt folded over and his hair, normally hidden by a backwards baseball cap was combed neatly atop his head. The man shifted nervously feeling the three sets of eyes watching him combing through the details of his clothing. 

"Huh, I didn't noticed that until now." Lorelai said tilting her head to the side as she looked at him. 

Sensing Luke was feeling uncomfortable Rory quickly changed the subject. "So Grandma what's for dinner tonight? I'm starved."

"Oh, sorry come in, come in." Emily said shaking herself out of the trance she had been in while looking at Luke. "Lorelai, why didn't you tell me you were bringing a guest! These are things you have to tell me ahead of time so I can plan properly! Thank goodness I always have the cook make extra food." 

"Well…I was going to call…but…I was…at the inn…and…" she stuttered trying to think of an excuse.

Luke shot Rory a 'thank you' look and Rory replied with a nod that said 'your welcome'. 

"Dinner is just about to be served so why don't you take your seats at the table." Emily said as another setting was set for Luke. 

"Thanks Grandma!" Rory said sitting opposite her mother and Luke. 

"Emily, dear, have you sent the paper?" Richard asked walking into the room straightening his tie. "Oh, Lorelai, Rory, hello. I don't think we've met, Richard Gilmore." he said extending his hand towards Luke. 

Luke cleared his throat nervously. "I'm…"

"Jeez, dad its Luke! Doesn't anyone remember him? He was at the hospital when you were sick! Of course you were kind of not with it then…he was at Rory's birthday party!" Lorelai interrupted in frustration.

Rory stifled a laugh, _'That's mom for ya!'_ she thought. 

"Ah yes…the iceman." 

"Argh!" Lorelai let out an exasperated sigh. "He is not the iceman!" 

"So Grandma?! Are we ready to start yet!?" Rory called out in the direction of the kitchen hoping to change the subject again. 

"Sorry there was a problem with the salmon fillets but it's all fixed now. Let's start!" Emily said coming out of the kitchen followed by a few maids carrying the dishes of food. 

"Looks great dear." Richard said to Emily as she took a seat next to Rory.

Luke smiled. _'Score two for the kid.'_ Luke mused to himself sensing another successful recovery made by Rory. 

The five began dining on their salads, salmon fillets, champagne, and other fancy delights put together for the evening. 

"So Rory how is school?" Richard asked.

"It's okay. All except for Biology."

"What's wrong with Biology?" Emily probed. 

"Well it's my lab partner." 

"Let me guess…Tristan?" Lorelai guessed looking up from her plate.

"Yup."

"He still bugging you?" Luke asked in a fatherly tone, which could also be translated as the 'do you want me to beat him up for you?' tone.

"Yeah, to make it worse is we're stuck with the same partners for the entire year. For every. Single. Project."

"Tough, babe. Sorry." Lorelai said sympathetically.

"Is he the DuGrey boy?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah."

"He seemed like a fine man." Richard stated.

"Not to me. To make things even worse, we have at least two projects a month. That's a lot of Tristan." she sighed stabbing her fillet in a mixture of anger and annoyance at the situation.

"Maybe it won't be so bad." Lorelai said optimistically.

Rory just stared. _'That'll be the day!'_ she thought. 

Just as dessert was being passed out the topic of conversation took a turn for the worst…in Lorelai's opinion anyway. 

"So are you and Luke dating?" Emily asked bluntly.

Lorelai who had been taking a sip of her drink at the time promptly spit it out. "What?!" 

"I asked if you and Luke were dating."

"Mom, don't you think that you should transition into a question like that, sort of give fair warning." 

"Don't be silly, answer the question Lorelai, yes or no?"

"You need to ease into these types of questions!" 

"Lorelai, stop dodging your mother's question." Richard put in, having been brought to attention at Lorelai's outburst. 

Everyone looked at Lorelai expectantly who in turned looked into Luke's eyes. Once she saw the look of fear and excitement in his eyes she smiled.

"Yes, we are." 

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew when he brought the ice to Rory's party!" Emily exclaimed.

"That's great, Luke you seem like a fine man!" Richard exclaimed.

"You're happy about this?!" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Richard asked.

"Lorelai, are you happy with this man?" Emily asked.

She looked over at Luke, grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, which he returned. "Yes."

"Then that's what matters."

Lorelai too stunned at her mother's odd behavior about the situation was speechless.

Rory stifled another laugh. _'She did it, she really did it. And Grandma's okay with it. Maybe there really is something different about Luke. Maybe that's why he and mom fit so well.'_

The rest of the evening went without surprises any additional and the ride back home was filled with a debate over whether or not Starbucks ice cream was just as bad for the body as regular coffee. Rory's dreams that night were filled with images of the three as a happy family, but for some reason there was another person in the dream standing next to her. Tristan. 

AN: Okies, me hope you like! ( I think it's not my best cuz it kinda seems rushed but I've made you all wait long enough so I wanted to put this out for ya)Like I said before the votes are in and it's a trory story peeps. But please don't stop reading because of that! Hey listen I need some ideas! What do YOU want to see happen in the story? If you wanna make an impact in the plot of the story please include that in your review because once again you'll be happy cuz the story will be the way you want it and I'll be happy cuz of the reviews! 


	3. Coffee in the Odd Hours of Morn

Disclaimer: As usual don't own anything!

"Okay, okay here's your damn coffee." Luke grumbled as he walked onto the Gilmore's front porch at 2:30 in the morning. 

"Thank you!" Lorelai happily whispered to him as he sat down next to her.

"Why exactly are you awake at 2:30 am?" he asked slightly irritated.

"I couldn't sleep." she said sipping her coffee.

"So you wanted coffee?" 

"Yes."

"Strange."

"That's why you love me."

"Yeah, I do."

She sighed contently snuggling in his arms holding the cup in her hands.

"So why didn't you make you OWN coffee?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes at his comment that had disturbed the peaceful moment.

"Cuz, I wanted YOUR coffee. Plus it's really funny seeing you stumble out of your truck grumbling about being up this early."

Luke shook his head, "You're insane."

"That I am."

Luke laughed, _'Jeez, she makes my life interesting.' _he thought to himself.

Lorelai stared at him, _'I love seeing him so happy. I wonder what he's thinking.' _she smiled.

"Whatcha thinking 'bout?" she asked.

"Nothing…why couldn't you sleep?" Luke questioned trying to change the subject.

"You're trying to change the subject but I'll let it slide. Rory was keeping me awake."

"What trying to finish homework?"

"No, I think she's having dreams or something."

"What like nightmares?" Luke sat up suddenly concerned.

"No, no nothing like that. Just relax." she said pushing him back to his reclined sitting position next to her. "It's weird, I woke up after I heard her making noise again and I…"

"Wait, what do you mean again?"

"Well, she's been having these dreams for like the past three nights now, I think…they started on Friday so…yeah three nights." she said counting off the days in her head. "Anyways, tonight I went in and sat in her room watching her. She was tossing and turning, but in a good way, if there is a good way. It was almost like she was running but not in terror, more like she was playing around or something. Oh, and she was smiling!"

"She was smiling?"

"Yup, and laughing!"

"She was smiling and laughing?"

"Uh huh!"

"Weird."

"Yup. So, that's why I'm up, they may not be giving her any problems but the dreams are really interfering with my sleep." she said sighing and closing her eyes.

"Well then you should go to sleep, right now, we both have work tomorrow and the kid has school." he said taking the now empty coffee cup out of her hand.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye." she said sleepily giving him a quick kiss and stumbling inside. 

"Amazing, she drinks coffee and still she's tired. Coffee to wake up, coffee to help her sleep, coffee to calm her nerves. Something is seriously screwed up with that woman's nervous system or whatever the hell it's called." he mumbled as he got back in his truck and drove away. 

AN: Sorry this is so short but I've had no time to write lately and I wanted to get this part up at least before something else happens to take time away from writing. Anyway I hope you enjoy this and I promise I will start writing more ASAP. A few reviews might inspire me to type faster though…(hint, hint). 


	4. The Perfect Moment

Author's Note: Hey, I'm sorry about the delay. A few weeks ago when Tristan came back, I felt inspired to write, I even started this chapter but then when it got to the part where he left and I went into depression mode major. Now to make things worse I'm suffering from a really bad cold but I promised myself I would post for you guys so here it is.   
  
Chapter 4  
  


"Hey Mary."   
  


Rory slammed her locker to reveal Tristan leaning against the row.  
  


"Tristan." she said curtly.   
  


She turned and started to walk down the hall as she took a sip of her latest coffee obsession, a Starbucks Frappacino.   
  


"That was a warm greeting Mare!" he replied sarcastically as he fell in step beside her.   
  


"What do you want Tristan?"   
  


"Is an intelligent conversation to much to ask for?" he asked putting on a puppy face and looking into her eyes.  
  


"With you? Yes." she said barely able to hide the amusement in her voice. She stopped walking and turned to face him. She smiled and stared into his eyes. She loved how his eyes sparkled with excitement when he looked at her. Their playful bantering started as conflict between two enemies but in that time it became so much more.   
  


"Oh really," he said pulling her close.  
  


"Come on, let me go, I'll be late for the newspaper meeting," she whined pulling away from him gently.   
  


"Never." he replied pulling her closer.   
  


"You think you're so cool don't you?" Rory replied coyly.  
  


"Me? No! Maybe a little hot…" he countered with a smirk  
  


"Hot, huh?" she said closing some of the space between them.  
  


"Yeah…" he said leaning down ever so slightly.  
  


"Well then, let me cool you down," Tristan pulled back confused.   
  


He stared into her eyes that were dancing playfully. In one swift movement she raised her Frappacino and tipped it onto his head. Tristan opened his mouth in shock as the cold beverage ran down him. Rory giggled playfully.  
  


"Oh, you are so gonna get it!"   
  


She tore off running down the hall with Tristan laughing as he chased her. She turned into the room where the newspaper meeting was being held.  
Instead of a meeting in a Chilton classroom, she was in the woods near the inn and instead of her Chilton uniform she was wear khaki Capri pants and a red sleeveless shirt. She turned around and saw Tristan behind her, he was Frappacino free while wearing khaki shorts and a blue shirt that accentuated his features and brought out the color in his eyes. Rory tore off running but he was too fast. She felt his arms grab her waist and pull her down onto the ground. He lied on top of her, holding her in place content by just looking at her beauty.   
  


It was perfect. The sun was shining, the flowers were in bloom, and butterflies danced around them. She looked into his eyes and watched as they danced and sparkled. Life could not have been better.   
  


He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled back and looked into her eyes again.  
  


"I love you." he spoke gently.   
  


She was silent for a moment. Looking at his playful yet sincere face she felt no fear. She didn't doubt herself, it felt right.  
  


"I love you too."   
  


"Kids! Come on! Time for lunch!" Lorelai yelled from a distance.  
  


"Let's go." he said, getting off her and offering his hand to help her up.  
  


They followed the direction of the voice. The trees parted and they found themselves in the clearing on front of the tool shed that the Gilmore girls had once called home. Lorelai was helping Luke set up food on the picnic table. Rory smiled to herself as she held Tristan's hand and watched as the two adults flirted with each other. She sat down next to Tristan on the bench and beamed at Luke and Lorelai from across the table.   
  


"Rory, hun can you pass the watermelon slices?" Lorelai asked. But Rory could not stop beaming at the perfection of the moment. The sun, the butterflies, the flowers, the feeling of complete warmth and happiness was all she felt as she blocked everything out.  
"Rory? Rory, sweetie! Snap out of it! Rory, wake up!"   
  
  


"Rory! Rory! Jeez, kiddo get up! Rory!"   
  


"Huh?" Rory stirred and sat up to rub her eyes.  
  


"Finally, come on, you're gonna be late for school." Lorelai said ruffling Rory's hair.   
  


With that she left the room mumbling to herself about having to make some stronger coffee.  
  


"It was all a dream," she said quietly as she ran her hand through her hair. Images of Tristan flashed through her mind. "No, correction, make that a nightmare."   
  
~Thank yous~  
Dreamery- Thanks for the compliments! I'm trying to get these things out as fast as possible.  
tough_flake- The trory part is coming soon so no worries, k?!   
Sarah- I hoped you liked this part, thanks for the review!  
Bethany- I totally agree, we need more L/L fics!  
Delancy- No worries, more is on the way!  
Lady S- no prob about the "free note taking". I loved your story! Everyone go read he story "Star Hollow Voles" cuz it's really good! Better than mine!  
Michelle- I'm typing, I'm typing! Glad you are enjoying the story.   
That's all for now but I plan on posting soon, really soon! Thanks you guys!  
  
P.S. A while back when there was still a community connecter there was this site called "Gilmore Girls Gallery" it had a lot of fanart and etc. I was wondering if anyone had the link because I can't find it and there are some pics that I really need from that site. If anyone has any info on that site please email me or include it in the review!  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. A Cloud of Doubt

Author's Note: Okay here is some Luke/Lorelai goodness for ya! Enjoy and be ever so kind as to review.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"Luke!" Lorelai called tiredly upon entering the diner.  
  
Those already in the diner exchanged knowing glances and small smiles that clearly said they approved of the relationship that formed between Luke and Lorelai.  
  
"What?" he called from the kitchen.  
  
"Need. Coffee." she grumbled.  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen with a look of confusion on his face. "Didn't just give you coffee?"  
  
"That was HOURS ago!" she whined. "Please?!" she begged holding an empty cup in her hands toward him.  
  
"You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up!" he complained but gave her the coffee anyway. "So, did you finally get some sleep?"  
  
Lorelai looked up from her coffee momentarily to give him a glare that clearly said she didn't sleep and would be demanding even more coffee because of it.  
  
"Okay, okay!" he said raising his hands in defeat. "How did the kid sleep?"  
  
"Fine, she had a goofy grin on her face when I went in to wake her up this morning. I think she's dreaming of a guy!" she said smiling.  
  
"Any clue who?" Luke said leaning down in front of her.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Anyway," Lorelai began, "did ya wanna come over for a movie tonight?"  
  
"Sure, what time?"  
  
"Around seven?"  
  
"Okay, bring coffee! I gotta go to work!"  
  
"Bye." Luke replied and gave her a small kiss on the lips.  
  
"Whoa, when did you turn into a sap?" she asked playfully.  
  
"When you changed my life." Luke said but then turned his face into disgust, "Did that come out of my mouth?"  
  
"Sure did!" Lorelai chirped cheerily. She loved that she had an affect on him.  
  
"I'm gonna work on that." he said still with the look on his face.  
  
Lorelai shook her head smiling and kissed him again before leaving.  
  
~What has she done to me? More importantly, why do I like is so much?~  
  
"Sookie! Where's the coffee?!" Lorelai called out not looking up. She had just gotten to Independence Inn, and after setting down her purse and telling a joke to Michel that he didn't laugh at she headed for the kitchens.  
  
"Hey sweetie! It's brewing right now." Sookie said, coming out from behind a very large stack of crates filled with pumpkins.  
  
Lorelai looked up from tinkering with her bracelet to see a wall of orange blocking her way.  
  
"Sookie! What's with all the pumpkins?"  
  
"I had Jackson bring them over. I'm planning working pumpkin into most of the menu as part of a theme for October and November!" she replied excitedly.  
  
"Sookie! Sweetie!" Lorelai began, "It's like only a week or so into September! Don't you think it's a little early to start making the food!"  
  
"Oh, no this is only for testing!" Sookie dismissed with a wave of the hand and then continued on to inspect each pumpkin. "I have to practice making the food first so by October everything will be set! There won't be this many when we start in October!"  
  
"Oh thank God cuz this is way too many..."  
  
"They'll be at least triple this many!" Sookie said happily, not hearing Lorelai's comment.  
  
"Great." Lorelai muttered sarcastically.  
  
Towards the end of lunch things, calmed down enough for Sookie and Lorelai to get into a deeper conversation.  
  
"So, hun, how are things going with Luke?" Sookie said as she wiped off the counter she had just finished cooking on.  
  
"Great!" Lorelai said with a falter in her smile.  
  
"Oh, no what's wrong?" Sookie asked, stopping her job and turning her full attention to Lorelai.  
  
"Well, it's just.I love him, with all my heart, I know that and he knows that."  
  
"The whole town knows that," Sookie said soothingly, "and he loves you too."  
  
"I know, and I am so grateful for that but...I don't know where it's going to go."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath and continued. "I see a future with him, I see myself marrying him but I don't think he does. You know how he feels about marriage...what are the odds he'll wanna marry me." she finished sadly.  
  
"Oh sweetie, don't think like that! You have to realize that ever since you got to together with Luke he's changed, you did that. He's happier, less cynical, he's even treating Jess nicer! Whatever effect you had on him has made him see things in a new light, trust me, marriage might be one of those things." Sookie concluded enthusiastically.  
  
"Thanks Sookie." Lorelai said feeling her heart lift. "So, can you make some more coffee?"  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well, it's just since this morning...lot a angry people...had to turn to coffee..." Lorelai stammered.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Sookie said and began another pot.  
  
  
  
Here's the timeline for the story in case you're wondering:  
  
The prequel to this "Love and Coffee" took place in September because school was just starting again for Rory.  
  
Chapter 1 and 2 in this story is one week into September or four days Chilton started up again.  
  
Chapter 3, 4, 5, and 6 take place only three days after the Friday night dinner.  
  
I'm planning on somehow catching the story up to present day but that won't happen for a while with what I have in store for you guys so, if things are a little mixed up season wise and etc. don't be confused or anything about why it's like that. 


	6. How Could You Forget?

Author's Note: Nothing to say except that I really hope you review, it's down at the bottom so read your way through…  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Hey Mary." Rory sighed and slammed her locker shut to reveal Tristan leaning against the row of lockers.  
  
"Tristan," she said curtly. With that she turned around and made her way to the first period of the day. ~At least I know I'm not dreaming this time~ she thought silently to herself.  
  
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asked falling in step beside her.  
  
"Gee, I haven't the faintest idea, class maybe? Seems logical since first period starts in five minutes." she answered not slowing down a bit.  
  
"So when are we working on the lab, it's due Friday you know?"  
  
"Yes, Tristan, I know." she replied clearly irritated.  
  
"I'm thinking we have to work on it after school every day this week." he said in a tone that clearly said he enjoyed the torment he was giving her.  
  
"Ugh…" she moaned. "Fine, whatever."  
  
Tristan just smirked as he opened the door to their first period English class and followed after her. As he sat down in his seat behind her she could just feel that this was going to be a LONG day.  
  
By the last period of the day she was going to rip her hair out. Not only did the teachers assign the standard Chilton homework load but she had to deal with Paris and her groupies giving her a hard time. All she wanted to do was go home and chug a gallon or two of coffee but no such luck.  
  
"Hey Mare, ready for our date?" Tristan asked slightly leaning against the door of her locker.  
  
"It's not a date Tristan, it's two hours in hell." she replied angrily as she roughly zipped up her backpack and slightly pushed Tristan away so she could slam her locker.  
  
"Whoa, bad day?" he asked in sincerity.  
  
Rory was about to turn to him and hit him with a biting insult but instead softened her expression at the hint of concern in his voice. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." she replied biting her lip and looking down.  
  
Tristan cleared his throat nervously, "Um…so let's go."  
  
With that they walked to the parking lot and hopped in his car. Neither said anything during the drive. Rory just sat staring out her window, but every now and then she could sense Tristan's gaze on her. When they arrived and entered the house there was a bustle of people walking around.  
  
"Mom!" Tristan called out, seconds later his mother came out of the kitchen talking to a woman in a peach business suit. "What's going on? Who are these people?"  
  
"Oh, Tristan dear! Meet Sheila, she's our party consultant for your father's business party this Saturday."  
  
Tristan didn't even acknowledge Sheila but continued to stare at his mother.  
  
"Saturday?"  
  
"Yes, it's the party that the firm holds every year, it's our turn to host it, why do you ask?" she inquired.  
  
"Saturday's my birthday. How could you forget?" he asked with a trace of sadness.  
  
"Oh, well, I'm sorry honey but I can't reschedule the party, the invitations went out a month ago!" she said hurriedly.  
  
"A month! You've been planning for a month and in that time you didn't remember my birthday?" Tristan asked in shock.  
  
Rory stood a little off to the side. ~How could they forget his birthday? She doesn't even seem sorry~ she thought to herself. At the moment her heart softened toward Tristan a little more.  
  
"Well, I don't know what to say Tristan! There's nothing…"  
  
"Excuse me ma'am?" one of the attendants interrupted. "There seems to be a rather large…erm…object taking up space in the living room. We were wondering what you wanted us to do with it."  
  
"What object?!" Tristan's mother asked in curiosity.  
  
"It's our biology project." Rory said, speaking up for the first time since their arrival. "A bio dome, our assignment is about genetics. We cross- pollinated a few plants to make hybrids and observe the traits they picked up. I'm surprised you haven't seen it, kind of hard to miss in your own house." she said adding the last part as a joke.  
  
"Yes, well Tristan's father and I just got back from a trip to Italy, I'm afraid I haven't seen it yet. Tristan be so kind as to remove it, so we can start setting up for the party, I'm going to need a full four days to get everything prepared. Oh, and I'm sorry but who are you?" she asked Rory.  
  
"Oh, um, Rory Gilmore. It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. DuGrey." she said extending her hand towards the woman.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure." she said and quickly turned around to make further party arrangements.  
  
Rory pulled back her hand embarrassed. Tristan dropped his shoulders slightly and his face softened into pain.  
  
"Sorry you had to see that." he said quietly. "Why don't you go up to my room, they won't bother us there."  
  
With a slight nod Rory made her way to his room with much difficulty considering she had only been there once before to help him search for the seeds for the bio dome when they first started the project. In the minutes she had to wait she thought about how when he suggested they work in his room there was no witty remark with it. She scrunched her face into a frown. She turned around quickly at the sound of his footsteps.  
  
"I'm sorry my mom was rude to you." he said softly as he set the bio dome on the floor.  
  
"It's okay." she responded just as softly. "I'm sorry she forgot your birthday."  
  
"Not the first time."  
  
Rory's mouth dropped open in shock. How could they forget his birthday more than once?  
  
Seeing this action Tristan responded by saying, "My parents have forgotten my birthday pretty much every other year since I was five. You would think I was used to it by now. Guess it's different for you."  
  
"No one's ever forgotten my birthday. There's a whole list of everyone's birthday in the town posted on the community bulletin board. Kind of helpful in the sense you always know when someone's birthday is but is kinda a curse considering you have to invite the whole town to the party cuz they know about it. Oh and don't even get me started on the torture you receive if for some reason you do forget…I'm sorry I'm babbling." she said noticing the somewhat amused look on Tristan's face.  
  
"No, it's okay. Must be nice, living in a place where you know you're loved and no one cares about your social status." he mused quietly, suddenly interested in their science project. "So, let's get started on this thing."  
  
Rory just nodded her head. The rest of the night they barely talked. By the time six rolled around both were tired of observing the plants and decided to call it a night. On the ride home small conversation about the music lightened the mood.  
  
"Do you realize this is the first time since we've met that we've had a genuine conversation? One where there were no insults thrown and where we just acted like…"  
  
Rory started but stopped to search for an appropriate word.  
  
"Friends?" Tristan finished.  
  
"Yeah." she said thoughtfully. "It's nice."  
  
Tristan just nodded slightly and went back to focusing on the road. In a few minutes they pulled up to her house.  
  
"So," Rory began gently, "since your mom is preparing for the party, did you wanna work here, at my house, for the rest of the week?" she asked biting her lip in anticipation.  
  
"Yeah, I guess."  
  
"Okay, see you tomorrow."  
  
With that she got out of the car and waited till he was out of sight until she sprinted into the house.  
  
"Mom! Mom!" she called out as she took off her jacket and shoes.  
  
"In the living room, babe!" Lorelai called back.  
  
Rory ran into the living room to find Lorelai and Luke sitting on the couch watching a movie.  
  
"Good your both here." she said turning off the TV.  
  
"Hey, we were watching that!" Lorelai whined but Rory silenced her by holding up her hand and opening her mouth to speak.  
  
"No time, we have a party to plan."  
  
Thank you so all who reviewed! Keep reviewing and I'll post the next chapter, which in case you're wondering, is already written and ready for uploading. Just review and I'll press the magic little button that provides you with more L/L and T/R goodness! 


	7. A Party to Plan!

Author's Note: Please be patient! The Troryness is coming soon but I am obligated to keep an even balance between L/L and T/R to keep both parties happy! There is a master plan to this all, I'm sorry it's taking a while to get to it but it's there. I still haven't figured out how the title will relate this all but it will, my titles always relate and this will not be the exception to the rule.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Okay, Rory, sweetie, back up! We have what to plan?" Lorelai asked while trying to process the information.  
  
"We have a party to plan." Rory said slower in a calmer voice.  
  
"Oh, that's what I thought she said." Luke said to Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai's eyes lit up at the mention of party. Stood up and clapped her hands excitedly.  
  
"Who? Where? When? Why? Can there be a pony and do my parents have to come?" She said in one breath.  
  
"Tristan. Here. Saturday. It's his birthday. No and maybe." Rory said wincing as she waited for Lorelai's response.  
  
"Maybe?!" Lorelai whined. "Parties are no fun if my parents…did you say Tristan?"  
  
"Yes." Rory answered quietly.  
  
"Wait, Tristan as in the jerk who's giving you a hard time at school?" Luke said standing up next to the elder Gilmore.  
  
"Tristan as in Evil Tristan? Bible boy Tristan? The one who is really, really cute?" Lorelai questioned. Luke shot her a look at the last one. "What?! He is!" she exclaimed defensively.  
  
"Mom, focus!"  
  
"Right, sorry." Lorelai said sheepishly.  
  
"So why are we planning a party for this guy? I thought you hated him." Luke said.  
  
"I don't hate him! A very strong dislike maybe but…I just…today we went to his house to work on our lab project and his mom was there. She was planning his father's business party for Saturday, Saturday is Tristan's birthday. She completely forgot and then made no attempts to make up for it. And it's not even the first time it happened!" Rory said now pacing in front of the two adults.  
  
"Poor kid." Luke said quietly.  
  
"Exactly!" Rory said throwing her hands in the air. "He looked so crushed. It was like for that entire time up until just a few minutes ago when he dropped me off I wasn't seeing a snotty, conceited, jerk instead it was like he was an actual human being. It's just…he may make my life living hell but it's his birthday and if I do something nice for him…"  
  
"Maybe he'll be nice back." Lorelai finished. Rory looked at her mother's face in confusion at how she knew what she was going to say. Seeing this Lorelai continued. "I've been there babe. In high society, you've got to put on this tough exterior so everyone knows you've got money and you're not afraid to use it. It comes from their parents because they act the same way, sadly towards their kids as well. Unfortunately this makes them insensitive to those who don't have the same demeanor as they do. That's the only way they know how to act but you think if you change this, make Tristan feel loved and appreciated like he more than likely doesn't feel at home, he'll change too." she finished as she walked up to her daughter and gave her a hug.  
  
"Yeah." Rory said quietly. " Am I asking for too much? Do you think it will work?"  
  
"In most cases I would say no," Looking into her daughter's sad eyes Lorelai quickly continued, "but by the way you described Tristan's reaction today, I think there is a good chance for this to succeed."  
  
"Good!" Rory said enthusiastically and pulled away from her mother. "Mom, call Sookie right now, tell her to get over here so she can help with the food, bring Jackson if she wants, he might be able to help. Luke, can you run over and get Jess really fast, I think cuz he's close to us we need to include him too. I'll go get Miss Patty, she can help when we spread the word about the party, the whole town is gonna wanna come!"  
  
"Honey, its 7:15, can't this wait till tomorrow?" Lorelai asked gently.  
  
"Can't! Tristan is coming over tomorrow to work on our lab! We can't do it at his house cuz they're going to be setting up their party."  
  
Lorelai was about to protest but Luke stopped her. "Lor, she's your daughter, if there is anyone as stubborn as you are, it's her. Don't fight it. Jess and I will be back in a few."  
  
As soon as Luke was out of the house Lorelai sighed heavily. "Are you sure we can't have a pony?"  
  
"No, don't you remember what happened last time?"  
  
"Yes but this time I promise, no water polo!"  
  
Rory gave her a stern look and walked out towards Miss Patty's house.  
  
"I still say it wasn't my fault." she grumbled as she dialed Sookie's number.  
  
Twenty minutes later…  
  
As predicted Jackson accompanied Sookie and they sat together on the couch next to Luke and Lorelai. Miss Patty sat in a chair to herself across from Jess and Lane who Rory decided to bring along as well (after much convincing from Mrs. Kim of course). Rory stood in front of everyone ready to speak.  
  
"Okay people, listen, you are here because we have a party to plan. I know its kinda short notice but my friend…" Rory stopped and started again, "…this guy I know, Tristan, his birthday is on Saturday and his parents forgot and planned a business party instead."  
  
"Oh, the poor dear." Miss Patty said with a dramatic sigh. Sookie nodded in agreement.  
  
"Hold on! Evil Tristan?" Lane blurted out.  
  
"Bible boy? The guy who's been a jerk to you for a year?" Jess asked. In the short time he had lived in Stars Hollow Jess had formed a friendship with Rory, taking it upon himself to be the brother she never had.  
  
"Well, yes." Rory said hesitantly.  
  
"But he's not all bad." Lorelai supplied. "He acted human today, according to Rory. I've been there, it burns to be ignored by your parents, he needs us."  
  
"Right, I think that we need to have a party for him, here." Rory continued, "In town. Now, I know you don't have reason to want to help him out cuz you don't know him but…"  
  
"We'll do it." Sookie blurted out. "We trust your judgment. Now what do we need to do?"  
  
"Sookie, I was hoping that you could put together some food. I know that it's only four days but you don't have to make anything extreme." Rory suggested.  
  
"No problem, Jackson will be able to help me, right sweetie?" Sookie asked turning to Jackson.  
  
"I don't know how much of a help I'll…" he started.  
  
"Great! This will be so much fun!" Sookie squealed.  
  
"Miss Patty," the younger Gilmore said turning towards her, "we need you to spread word around town, but be very discreet about it, Tristan is going to be here everyday this week, making this party planning even harder for all of us. Maybe you could talk people into coming up and making slight conversation, not anything to scare him away, but maybe so they could get to know him and possibly find some gift ideas?" she asked nervously biting her lip in anticipation.  
  
"Of course dear, he needs gifts after all."  
  
"Great!" she said happily. "I'll arrange a walk through of town tomorrow so a few people could approach him. Spread the word while we're at school. Lane, Jess, and I will take him around, befriend him, make him feel comfortable and all that. Distract him if he asks any questions. Okay with you guys?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Lane and Jess said simultaneously.  
  
"Luke I need you to make sure the town is under control, shut them up if they get to loud about the plans. Mom, I need you to work with Kirk about organization and decorations."  
  
"Do I have to work with Kirk?" Lorelai whined. "He's TOO organized. And he found where I hid his stupid bull horn."  
  
"Mom!" Rory said warningly.  
  
"Fine." Lorelai huffed.  
  
"Okay, now remember, none of this gets back to Hartford! I'll handle that part."  
  
"My, daughter, ambassador to Hartford." Lorelai praised with mock pride.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and smiled.  
  
"Meeting adjourned."  
  
Everyone left but Luke and Jess stayed back for a minute. "Rory, after school is there anyway that you, Jess, and I can talk at the diner in private for a few minutes." Luke said in a low whisper. "It's important."  
  
Rory nodded. "I'll find a way."  
  
With that the two left.  
  
"You're doing a good thing here kid." Lorelai said from behind her.  
  
"I just hope it works." Rory said quietly.  
  
They called it a night, Rory fell asleep and this time there were no more dreams.  
  
AN: Review please! Why did the dreams stop you wonder? It's because…review and find out! 


	8. First Contact

Author's Note: YAY! I'm happy! Why? Because you like it! You really like it! I feel so inspired! I'm even going to write a separate Trory song fic! To be posted soon…until then, read on…!  
  
PS- In this story, Lane's parents know about Henry and they approve! Don't wanna mess with yall's heads or anything but just work with me here.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Rory! You're gonna be late! Get your butt out here and grab a pop tart!" Lorelai shouted towards her daughter's room.  
  
"Coming!" Rory yelled back.  
  
As she rushed around trying to gather the books and papers that had been scattered around during a night of studying she couldn't help but think about her dreams.  
  
~Why did they stop? I mean, not that I wanted them to continue! I don't like Tristan. I mean, I do like him, when he's nice, which is rare! I feel so bad for him, I knew he didn't have the greatest parents in the world but I didn't think it went as far as forgetting his birthday. Maybe that's what the dreams are! They predicted that I needed to make him feel loved, that covers the part with the kiss, and he needed to feel like he belonged to a loving family! That's the part where we all sat down! It's all symbolic! Now that I've decided to give him all that by throwing a party the dreams are gone! What a relief! I don't harbor hidden feelings for Tristan!~  
  
Satisfied with her reasoning Rory hurried to the kitchen. Throwing her backpack and blazer onto a chair she walked over to grab her morning pop tart and coffee.  
  
"Morning mini-me!" Lorelai chirped from her spot at the table.  
  
Rory turned and leaned against the counter, coffee cup in one hand and the pastry in the other. "Dr. Evil." Rory replied narrowing her eyes into slits but quickly replacing it with a smile.  
  
"Nope! That's Tristan. No wait, Tristan already has too many names. That can be his dad's name!" Lorelai said excitedly.  
  
"Like father like son." Rory mused.  
  
"Anyway, you missed your bus."  
  
"I know. Jeep?" Rory asked hopefully.  
  
"And make me walk?" Lorelai questioned like it was the worst thing in the world.  
  
"It's not that far!" Rory bounced playfully back. .  
  
"Heels!"  
  
"Harvard!"  
  
"Work!"  
  
"Chilton!"  
  
"Oh, speaking of hell," Lorelai said, forgetting their banter, "are you going to invite any Chiltonites to our little b-day bash?"  
  
"Invite the forces of evil to our quiet innocent town? I don't think Stars Hollow would survive!"  
  
"Doubt that. Taylor and Miss Patty are more than enough to take on the little demons, imagine the whole town set loose on 'em?!"  
  
"When Good Towns Go Bad…" Rory said in a newscaster voice.  
  
"Next at 10!" Lorelai finished.  
  
"Well, I'll talk to Henry today, maybe he can help me weed out the annoying ones and just invite the softies." Rory said, then looked at her watch. "I'm late! Jeep?"  
  
"Evil minion." Lorelai grumbled but handed over the keys anyway. "Oh, hey today Sookie wants me to help select food for the party so I'm going to do that and at lunch I'll meet up with Luke and Kirk on security for this thing. When are ya gonna bring Tristan around for the first batch of happy townspeople?"  
  
"Um, today, after school at Luke's. Tell Miss Patty to be on alert. Bye mom!" with one final swig of her coffee Rory was gone.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"Mary." Tristan's voice floated over her shoulder.  
  
"Tristan, why am I not surprised?" she said turning around to see his usual cool swagger had returned.  
  
"Hey, can we walk and talk?" he asked raising his eyebrow.  
  
"Sure, what's on your mind?" Rory said turning and walking with him to their first period.  
  
"I wanted to apologize again for how mother treated you last night, she had no right." he said dropping his voice. "Also, please, don't tell anyone about," he stopped and held onto her arm and pulled her closer, "how I acted last night."  
  
"What, you being civil to me for the first time?" she said harshly.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant." he said in a hurt voice. He looked around nervously but brought his eyes back to hers.  
  
"It's okay, I'm sorry. Listen, I know that we haven't been the best of friends but for the sake of sanity can we call a truce?" she asked extending her hand towards him.  
  
"I guess, can I still call you Mary?" he asked coyly.  
  
Rory smiled slightly, nodded, and Tristan accepted her hand. Electricity flew through them as skin made contact with skin. Rory shivered as her gaze met Tristan's piercing blue eyes. Time stopped as they stared at one another, she shook her head and broke the trance.  
  
"So, anyway," she said nervously, "you can call me Mary but I don't have anything to call you?"  
  
"I can think of a few things." Tristan said suggestively as they started walking again.  
  
"I'm sure you can but I was thinking more along of the lines of something not sexually suggestive?"  
  
"Darn, all out of suggestions then." Tristan said in mock frustration.  
  
"I'll think of something then."  
  
"Won't be as fun as the ones I had in mind but sure. Hey, about our project, now I wasn't able to move the thing yet so we can stop by at my house to pick it up real quick…"  
  
"Actually," Rory interrupted, "I brought my own car today cuz I missed the bus so why don't I just meet you at my house. That way you can change your clothes into something more suitable for walking around."  
  
"Wait, why?" Tristan asked as they entered their class and sat down.  
  
"Because, you've dropped me off at my house a bunch of times but you've never really seen Stars Hollow, so before we do bio why don't I take you on a grand tour?" Rory asked.  
  
"Okay." he answered with a shrug of the shoulders.  
  
"Great, the first step to our truce becoming a friendship is for you to meet some of the people in my life."  
  
"When do I meet the parents for the wedding announcement?" he whispered seductively as class started.  
  
"When hell freezes over." she replied out of the corner of her mouth and turned her attention towards the teacher.  
  
~Step one of operation B-day is in motion~ she thought silently.  
  
Later that day at lunch instead of heading to her usual secluded table, Rory sought out one of the few people she actually considered a friend, Henry.  
  
"Hey Henry." she greeted happily when she approached his table where he sat with a group of friends.  
  
"Hey Ror, what's up?" he replied in the same manner.  
  
"Actually, I need to talk to you about something," eyeing his friends who were listening intently she talked in code. "I nong pong rong I vong a tong e."  
  
Henry's friends looked at each other in confusion at what was said (wondering if it was English) but Henry's was scrunched in concentration. Seconds later, understanding took over.  
  
"Oh, right. Sure. I'll see you later guys!"  
  
With that he got up and followed Rory outside to one of Chilton's many courtyards and sat with her on a bench under a tree. Once they were out of hearing distance from anyone else they spoke.  
  
"Sorry I didn't understand you right away, I'm not used to the "ong", sounds too Asian and I get it confused with Korean." Henry said with a smile.  
  
It made him feel closer to Lane and Rory when they taught him a few of their code languages they used to stop the ever-present gossipers from hearing what they were saying. Henry knew for a fact that even Dean wasn't let in on it. You knew you were there to stay for good when the girls began to say "Hop e lop lop o" to you instead of a simple 'Hello'.  
  
"Sorry, I would have used "op" because trust me I know that language better but I wanted to throw your friends off the trail."  
  
"No it's okay. It just took me a while to figure out you said "in private", you said it so fast that it sounded like "I'm a pirate". My mistake." Henry said bursting into laughter, followed by Rory.  
  
"Anyway," Rory said after she controlled the laughter, "do you know Tristan DuGrey?"  
  
"Tris? Yeah, we go way back. Best friends…well we used to be." Henry said sadly.  
  
"What happened?" Rory said with a frown.  
  
"Back in freshman year, we were tight but then things got messed up. He began to get caught up with the ladies and becoming king of the school whereas I got pulled into my studies. We don't talk so much anymore but I'm not mad at him or anything."  
  
"Well, how about I give you a chance to reconcile?"  
  
"How?" Henry asked.  
  
"His birthday is on Saturday, you know that right?" Rory continued after he nodded, "his parents forgot…"  
  
"Again?" Henry interrupted. Rory nodded. "Last time that happened, he was so upset, how did he take it this time?" Henry asked in concern. They may not be the best of friends anymore but that doesn't erase the memories that had formed way back when the two boys met in kindergarten.  
  
"Pretty bad. But we, the whole town of Stars Hollow that is, are throwing him a surprise birthday party on Saturday to make up for it. I was wondering if you would like to come?" Rory asked, biting her lip as she waited for the answer.  
  
"Sure. Yeah, maybe we can fix the space between us at the same time."  
  
"Great! Um, is there anyone else that you think would like to come? No one evil. You've been to Stars Hollow, heck, after Lane's parents found out about you over the summer and let you two date, you were officially declared a resident! You know how my…our," Rory added with a smile, "town acts so…"  
  
"No problem. I can think of a few people who Tris and I used to be friends with that might want to come."  
  
"Great! But please be very quiet about it. While Chilton is no match for the Stars Hollow Gossip Hotline, this school still has a very advanced rumor mill. No one else can know cuz they'll crash the party and worst of all they'll know where I live so they can torment me when we're not in school too." she begged with pleading eyes.  
  
"Secrets safe."  
  
"Tong hong a nong kong song!" Rory said with a mischievous look in her eyes.  
  
Henry sat with the "deer in the headlights" look on his face while he worked out what she had said. Rory had already gotten up and was walking away slowly as she laughed.  
  
"Oh, your welcome!" he called and ran to catch up with her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Okay so everything is in place?" Rory asked over the phone.  
  
"All set!" Lane chirped, the noise of the diner's customers could be heard faintly in the background. "When he gets there, call over, Miss Patty and your mom are waiting."  
  
"My mom?"  
  
"She's here for protection."  
  
"I thought Luke and Kirk were handling that?" Rory questioned as she looked out the window waiting for Tristan's car to arrive.  
  
"Have you met the people in our town?"  
  
"Good point. So Babette's going to start the game of telephone?"  
  
"Yup, she's been instructed to start dialing as soon as Bible boy shows up then as you walk out she'll intercept for first contact."  
  
"Good. Listen I need to change before he gets here so I gotta go. Tell Luke I'll talk to him when we get there."  
  
"Check."  
  
With that the girls hung up the phone and Rory rushed to get ready. A mere ten minutes later Tristan's car pulled up next to the sidewalk. Seeing this Rory rushed to look over next door, Babette was already on the phone talking furiously. Rory smiled, seconds later the doorbell rang and Rory snapped back into action.  
  
"Hey Tristan!" Rory greeted upon opening the door to her house.  
  
"Hey Mare! Where can I put this thing?" Tristan asked as he carried the bio dome inside.  
  
"Over here in the living room." she said.  
  
"Um, great. So anyway, I'm all dressed and ready for the walk through of the town as you ordered so…"  
  
"Let's go! But first I have to make a quick call."  
  
"Okay." Tristan agreed.  
  
Rory picked up the phone, on the way to the kitchen she looked out the window and saw Babette waiting out on the lawn pretending to be arranging garden ornaments. Rory dialed and waited for two rings until someone picked up.  
  
"Speak."  
  
"Luke?"  
  
"Rory?"  
  
"Yeah, isn't Lane supposed to pick up?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah, hold on, she got in a disagreement with your mom over who makes better coffee. Starbucks or Coffee Bean. I'll go get her."  
  
"Hey." Lane said a few seconds later.  
  
"Hey." Rory responded. Feeling someone coming up behind her Rory switched her speech. "Hong e' song hong e rong e. Wong e' rong e cong o mong inong gong." (Translation: He's here. We're coming.)  
  
"Got it. See you in five." Lane understood and hung up.  
  
"What was that all about? Was that even English?" Tristan asked from behind her.  
  
"Nothing. Let's go." Without another word she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the house. Babette promptly sprung into action.  
  
"Hey doll!" she called running over. "How are you? Who's your friend?"  
  
"Tristan DuGrey ma'am." he said and extending his hand towards the woman before Rory could say anything.  
  
"Well, aren't you charming. Just call me Babette everyone does doll. So how do you know Rory?"  
  
"From school, Babette. We're working on a project for biology." Rory supplied. "But, we must be going now, bye."  
  
"Later doll!" she called as Rory pulled him away.  
  
~Lots of people to meet~ Rory thought silently.  
  
"Oh hey, Tristan. I know that you were raised to say ma'am and sir and all that but my mom hates when people call her ma'am so, when you meet her, call her Lorelai, or else."  
  
"What will happen if I don't?" Tristan asked curiously as he looked around the town. "Is it just me or is everyone staring at me?"  
  
"Well, if you don't my mom will turn you into the town's first speed bump, it will make the newspapers, history in the making. Oh, and this is a small town of gossipers, of course everyone is staring at you."  
  
"Is that a good thing?"  
  
"What being turned into a speed bump?" Rory asked with a mischievous grin.  
  
"You know what I mean." Tristan scolded gently as they walked towards what to him looked like a hardware store.  
  
"Let's just say, be prepared to be asked a lot of questions. Oh and when we get to the diner don't be worried if everyone already knows who you are."  
  
They walked into Luke's and Tristan got a very confused look on his face.  
  
"Isn't this…?"  
  
"Nope." Rory answered, knowing what he was going to ask.  
  
"But why does the…"  
  
"Sign say 'Hardware'?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Rory!" Lane squealed from her stool next to Lorelai.  
  
"Tristan, this is my best friend Lane." Rory introduced as they walked over. "And this is my mom."  
  
"Nice to meet you Lane, Lorelai." he greeted warmly.  
  
"Lorelai? You taught Bible boy well young grasshopper." Lorelai said with a nod to Rory.  
  
"Bible boy?" Tristan asked in confusion.  
  
"Yeah you know the whole Bible reference thing with the calling my daughter Mary thing." Lorelai rambled. "If you don't like it we can call you another name. We have many. Evil Tristan, Damien, Spawn of Satan, Dr. Evil…"  
  
"No, that's Tristan's dad's name." Rory interrupted.  
  
"Oh, right…anyways, not the point!"  
  
"Hey kid." Luke greeted from behind the counter. "You must be the Evil one." he said acknowledging Tristan.  
  
"Wow, I'm pretty popular around here." Tristan commented in a mixture of sarcasm and amusement.  
  
"Ror, I think Jess said he wanted to talk you back here." Luke said with a pointed look.  
  
"Oh, okay, Tris I'll be back in a minute." Rory said letting his nickname slip from her mouth.  
  
"Sure." he said in a semi daze at what she just said.  
  
"Are you going to be okay?"  
  
"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine." Lorelai grinned mischievously.  
  
"Mom, behave!"  
  
"Okay fine. Oh look, Miss Patty is coming!" Lorelai said pointing out the window at the fast approaching dance teacher.  
  
Rory shook her head and went in the back. Jess was already waiting.  
  
"Okay you two might wanna sit down." Luke suggested after closing the door so no one could hear them.  
  
"What's this about Luke?" Jess asked.  
  
"You two know that I really love Lorelai right?" Luke asked. The two teens nodded. "Well, I can't go on as just her boyfriend…"  
  
"Oh my gosh! Are you going to break up with her?!" Rory interrupted suddenly.  
  
"No!" Luke replied.  
  
"You can't break up with her! She's a good person and you finally lightened up when you got together!" Jess argued, not hearing Luke's answer.  
  
"Listen! Shut up! We're not breaking up!" Luke said loudly but then hushed remembering that only a thin door separated them from the rest of the diner's occupants. "I want to marry her." he said quietly.  
  
"What?!" Rory and Jess burst out simultaneously.  
  
"Oh my God! That's great!" and "I'm so happy for you!" were said many times by the two teens who were ecstatic, without thinking they quickly hugged each other and then hugged Luke who had a huge smile on his face.  
  
"So you approve?" he asked.  
  
"Of course! Why wouldn't we! We're going to be cousins." Rory said the last part to Jess.  
  
Jess just shrugged his shoulders happily.  
  
"But, I thought you were against marriage?" Rory asked.  
  
"I was, but you're mom changed that I guess." he answered.  
  
"Well, when are you gonna propose? Did you pick out the ring? Is there going to be room for the four of us at the Gilmore house?" Jess asked quickly.  
  
"Slow down." Luke said. "I want to propose Saturday night, at the party because she won't be suspecting it. I already got the ring, it's very vintage-ish, from a jewelers in Hartford because if I bought it here everyone would have known by now. And as far as living arrangements I have no idea."  
  
Satisfied with the answer the teens remained silent as he continued to talk.  
  
"This town is the biggest bunch of talkers on the planet. I'm surprised with everyone talking that the kid doesn't know about his party already but I can trust you two. Don't say a word to anyone about this, the less people who know about it the better."  
  
"Mop yop lop ipop sop a rop e sop ea lop e dop!" Rory answered.  
  
"What?!" Luke exclaimed.  
  
"She said 'My lips are sealed' and the same goes for me too." Jess answered.  
  
Confused but not wanting to ask Luke nodded and led them out to the rest of the diner.  
  
"Okay, people back off!" they heard Lorelai yell.  
  
Coming out from around the corner they saw Tristan sitting next to Lane at the counter with there eyes glued on Lorelai who stood in front of them holding a spatula facing a crowd of people.  
  
"Back off people! Leave the poor boy alone for one day!" she cried. They showed no signs of moving. Lorelai began to wave the spatula at them like a mad woman.  
  
"You heard Lorelai! Everyone let him be!" Miss Patty ordered and she escorted the rest of the crowd out of the diner. Tristan let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"What happened? And why are you holding my spatula?" Luke asked grabbing the utensil from her hand.  
  
"They got out of hand. Just attacking Tristan with questions. I had to hold him off!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
"Hey, we're going to show Tristan around the town now." Rory cut in. Looking at Tristan she saw the scared look on his face. Lane noticed this too.  
  
"Don't worry. They won't bug you. Jess and I will be your body guards." Lane reassured.  
  
Tristan relaxed and walked out with them.  
  
"So, show me the sights of this little town." he said.  
  
The four walked across to towards the gazebo but stopped abruptly when someone shoved Tristan violently to the ground.  
  
"Dean!" Rory yelled.  
  
Thanks for reading! I'm sorry it was kind of long! Most of my stories are long and I've been known to write chapters with at least 15 pages but I tried to spare you from that torture. Sorry the ending of this chapter is kind of weak but I wanted to be done with it. I made a very important decision about the future of this fic, some of you may not like it others my not care but trust me it is all for the best. You'll find out what the decision is in due time but for now don't worry about it and just review! 


	9. Start the Countdown!

Author's Note: Okay here is the next chapter! This is REALLY long and I apologize for it. I know that people don't like reading fics that drone on forever but I didn't want to split this into separate chapters.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Dean!" Rory exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"What's your problem!?" Tristan shouted, getting up from the ground. Lane was frozen in shock and Jess looked around worriedly.  
  
~Don't move unless he gets out of hand.~ he silently told himself. ~Remain normal unless he gets out of hand.~  
  
Jess looked around again, the town had stopped what they were doing to watch, a few of them fidgeting nervously.  
  
Lorelai and Luke stood just outside the diner, Lorelai held Luke back as he tried to rush forward. She looked him in the eye and shook her head slightly.  
  
"Wait for it. Don't interfere unless necessary." she whispered.  
  
"I need to talk to you!" Dean said angrily, ignoring Tristan's question and grabbing Rory roughly by the arm.  
  
"Let go of me!" she ordered twisting out of his grasp.  
  
"So, I'm guessing bag boy just found out." Luke said as they watched the scene.  
  
"Yeah, guess the rumor mill was slacking off today, I thought for sure he'd have jumped Tristan sooner." Lorelai agreed.  
  
"What are you doing with him?" Dean spat angrily.  
  
"I'm showing him around town." Rory replied calmly.  
  
"Why is he here?! You told me you hated him! Did you mean anything you said that day?" he asked looking in her eyes.  
  
"Obviously not." Rory replied, a trace of anger in her eyes.  
  
"He's just trying to get in your pants!" Dean exclaimed furiously.  
  
"What kind of a person do you think I am? You obviously have a very high standard of me, don't you?!" she said sarcastically.  
  
"I'm just trying to protect you." he said lowering his voice and looking in her eyes.  
  
He searched her face, trying to find anything in her eyes that might say she didn't mean all of what she had just said. He looked for any hope that said that she did love him, that she wanted him back, but he couldn't read her anymore. He used to be able to see what she was thinking but now she had closed herself off. That made him angry.  
  
"It's not you're job to protect me anymore." she said softly but in a clear voice.  
  
A tense silence cut the air, the whole town was watching but they didn't dare speak. They kept their eyes glued on the action happening just a few feet south of the gazebo.  
  
Rory understood the thoughts going through his head, he had still left himself open to her. She remained closed as she felt his eyes searching her. As Dean's eyes turned angry she shuddered. He realized he had lost her and now he was mad. She saw a flicker in his eyes, she knew that flicker, she had seen it once before. Rory looked at Jess for a split second, in one brief moment she conveyed all the information he needed. She was worried, Dean was going to do something but she told him to wait until she gave him a signal. Two seconds later it came.  
  
"Jess!" she screamed. As the name left her mouth Dean spun around and took a swing at Tristan.  
  
Jess moved and caught Dean's fist in his. Dean fought against Jess to get to Tristan.  
  
"Hey! Accountant! Do you know why you're here?" he shouted.  
  
"Lane!" Jess shouted, clamping a hand over Dean's mouth.  
  
Lane whistled loudly and hurriedly tried to pull Tristan away from the scene as those fidgety townspeople from before where shaken out of their stupor and advanced on the struggling Dean.  
  
"She's planning something!" Dean shouted as he wrenched away from Jess.  
  
Tristan barely heard what was being said as Lane, Lorelai, and Miss Patty all talking loudly, pulled him away. Dean ran forward to chase Tristan but Jess tackled him to the ground. He held him in place until Luke, Taylor, Kirk, and a few others took Dean away in a matter of seconds. Rory stood dumbfounded, those specific people who were standing nearby came out to subdue Dean, it was like they had planned it. Jess saw Rory's confused look as he walked over to her. "You had this planned?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah." he couldn't judge her emotions, she was clouded, he couldn't tell if she was angry or not.  
  
"The whole town was in on it. Everyone knew, they were all ready." Rory stated.  
  
"Yeah, except for you and Dean. And Tristan of course."  
  
"Thank you!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck. At first he was shocked but then relaxed into a hug.  
  
"That's what brothers are for." Jess said with a smile.  
  
"We're going to be cousins, not brother and sister." she said.  
  
" Technically yes, but you'll always be a sister to me." Jess argued, pulling away to look her in the eyes.  
  
"You'll always be a brother to me." Rory replied softly.  
  
Jess just smiled, "Come on, let's go see how wonder boy is doing."  
  
With one arm around her shoulder's Jess walked with Rory to the diner. They tried to walk to the counter but the diner was crowded with as many townspeople as the place could fit. All of them were trying to get to Tristan to see if he was all right, Lorelai and Lane were attempting to protect him.  
  
"Back off people! It's over! He's all right! He didn't even get hit!" they heard Lorelai scream. "Out! Out! Don't make me get out the spatula!"  
  
Rory and Jess laughed. No one made a move to leave. "That's it! You leave me no choice!" Lorelai jumped over the counter and grabbed a spatula from the kitchen. She jumped back over the counter and started swinging at everyone, forcing them to move back.  
  
"Everyone get out!" Luke yelled from the door. He had returned from taking Dean away to find that he couldn't even get into his own diner. "Leave, now!"  
  
Knowing there was no point to arguing, everyone cleared out with the exception of a few genuine customers.  
  
"Why is it that whenever I leave you alone for a few minutes I come back to find you holding my spatula?" Luke asked Lorelai.  
  
"I don't know, something about it attracts me to it. I was thinking of running away with it. Mr. Spatula, Spat, Spatty...hey!" Lorelai objected as Luke plucked the object from her hands.  
  
"You are not naming my cooking utensils!" Luke argued as he walked back behind the counter.  
  
"But it's so much more than a utensil!" Lorelai whined.  
  
Ignoring Lorelai's last comment Luke turned to Tristan. "You okay kid?"  
  
"Yeah, but what was that? Do you guys have some sort of secret police?" he asked confused.  
  
They all looked at each other. "Well..." Rory began.  
  
"Kind of." Lorelai interrupted. "We knew Dean would freak out when he saw you so we prepared for an attack." ~He's allowed to know at least that.~ Lorelai thought silently. "Wherever you go there are undercover townies who are ready to defend you. Makes you feel special, huh?" Lorelai asked playfully.  
  
"I must say, your town knows how to rise to an occasion." Tristan said, shaking his head in disbelief and amusement.  
  
"If you think that's amazing you should see our parties." Lane supplied.  
  
Friday afternoon...  
  
Rory rested her head against the cool metal of her locker. The week of non-stop homework and party preparations had taken its toll. While the rest of Stars Hollow would be decorating the town square for the party, she would be getting much needed sleep. She had made a deal with the grandparents, they would skip this week's Friday dinner, and instead would spend the day in Stars Hollow. She didn't tell them why for fear that somehow all of Hartford society would find out about the bash. Lorelai would tell them when they showed up tomorrow morning.  
  
She and Tristan had finished the project a day early so they walked around town instead. Everyone afterwards asked her questions, which she tried to answer as best she could, about what Tristan might like as a gift. She was exhausted but soon all her hard work would pay off. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.  
  
"Hey Mare."  
  
"Hey Tris." Rory turned around and smiled despite her lack of energy.  
  
"Still can't think of a name for me?" Tristan asked, taking up the same position against the lockers.  
  
"Nope, still working on it." she replied. "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"  
  
"Probably just driving around. I don't think I could stand being around the house while my parents chat up with the rest of high society." he looked down sadly. Why did he always let his guard down when she was around?  
  
"Well, I'm going to my grandparents' house in the morning." she lied. "Why don't I swing by your place afterwards, say 11 o'clock, and we could hang out. Maybe even go back to Stars Hollow for dinner?" she suggested hopefully.  
  
"I'd like that." Tristan answered, his heart lifting at the prospect of spending time with Rory and her town.  
  
Even though Stars Hollow was kind of kooky, he wouldn't have it any other way. Whenever he was with them, he felt welcomed, loved even. Not the phony love, like the kind he felt when girls flocked to him because of his status, the real love felt when someone sees him as Tristan, not the crowned prince of the DuGrey family fortune, but Tristan, a real guy. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't give the town of Stars Hollow any reason to love him, yet they did. ~Rory, it has to do with Rory.~ he thought. ~But she'll never be yours. Stop it! Stop thinking that! You're a DuGrey, you're not supposed to love anyone!~  
  
"So, do you need a ride home?" Tristan asked in order to snap himself out of his thoughts.  
  
"No, I'm catching a ride home with Henry."  
  
"Cho?" Tristan asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah, do you know him?" Rory asked innocently. She knew Tristan knew Henry.  
  
"Yeah, we used to be best friends. We grew apart when we hit high school. I wish I could fix that but it's been too long. I wasn't exactly great to him. I wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to talk to me again." he looked down again. "How do you know him?"  
  
"Met him at Madeline's party. He's Lane's boyfriend. That, and he's been an official Stars hollow resident ever since the town adopted him."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, he's even allowed to vote on town matters."  
  
There was a silence between them.  
  
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Tristan asked suddenly.  
  
"Yeah, later." she waved as he walked off. When he was out of sight she closed her eyes again.  
  
"Do you want to sleep during the drive home?" Henry asked as he approached.  
  
"Yes, please." Rory answered not bothering to open her eyes. The hall was nearly empty now and the general silence was lulling her to sleep.  
  
"Rory!" Henry said loudly with a laugh. She jumped up, fully awake.  
  
"What?!" she asked crankily.  
  
"Do you want to go now?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on, let me get my books." Rory replied. She turned around, opened her locker, and started taking out the books she needed. "Hey, thanks for helping out with the party. Especially with the decorating tonight."  
  
"Why wouldn't I? I'm a Stars Hollow resident now aren't I? Plus, Tris is...was my friend. It's time to fix things. If he wants to that is." Henry said.  
  
Rory stopped and turned to him. "Trust me, he wants to." She pulled him into a hug.  
  
"So, both Lane and Jess called to inform me of the run in with Dean."  
  
Rory sighed and pulled back from the hug. "Dean is the only one, the only one in the entire town of Stars Hollow who doesn't understand."  
  
"Okay, sensing this is a touchy subject, moving on. Is the surprise part of the bash taken care of?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to pick him up in the morning, we'll drive around for a few hours, then when we've used up enough gas we'll head home. If my calculations are accurate tomorrow we'll run out of gas just outside town."  
  
"Then you guys walk into town, all the lights will be dead of course until someone flips them on, and we all yell surprise." Henry finished. "Did anyone ever tell you that you take a long time at your locker?"  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. This party will be great!" Rory said as she shut her locker and the two turned around.  
  
"What party?"  
  
"Paris!" Rory exclaimed nervously. She and Henry turned around to find themselves face to face with the aforementioned Geller.  
  
"I repeat, what party?" Paris asked again but this time in a softer almost pained voice.  
  
"We'll tell you but not here, it's not safe." Rory whispered looking around suspiciously.  
  
"Come on, to the car." Henry said, dragging the two girls with him.  
  
Luckily Henry parked in a corner, separated from "enemy" ears. Rory threw her backpack down on the ground and braced herself.  
  
""Okay Paris, if we tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone!" Rory warned.  
  
"Yeah, not Madeline, not Louis, not anyone." Henry added with emphasis.  
  
"If anyone else from Chilton finds out, not only will everything be ruined but my town will be in danger. Well, not really, actually any Chiltonite would be in danger cuz my town is kind of weird..."  
  
"Ror, you're rambling." Henry gently reminded her.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"I promise I won't tell." Paris assured them.  
  
"We, the whole town of Stars Hollow, is throwing Tristan a surprise birthday party tomorrow." Rory said quickly, wincing as she waited for an onslaught of angry jabs. They never came.  
  
"How do they know Tristan?" Paris asked curiously.  
  
"Well, he came over every day this past week to work on our bio lab." Rory answered.  
  
"So, he walked around your town, yet no one spilled the secret?" Paris asked skeptically.  
  
"What can I say? For being the biggest bunch of talkers on the planet, they did good." Rory answered proudly, Henry nodded in agreement.  
  
"So, what time?" Paris questioned.  
  
"You wanna come?" Rory asked in shock. "I mean, I want you to, but I thought you were kind of...anti-social."  
  
Paris shrugged her shoulders. "Might not be so bad."  
  
"Well, okay!" Henry exclaimed enthusiastically.  
  
"The party starts at five but you have to be there at 4:30 cuz it's a surprise and we need you to get there before Tristan does." Rory informed her. "You still remember how to get there right?"  
  
"Yeah." Paris replied.  
  
"Oh, and you might want to consider spending the night there. You can stay at the inn." Henry suggested.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, knowing Stars Hollow, they won't stop partying till 2 in the morning, and believe me, they won't let you leave till they're good and ready to let you go. By then you'll be too tired to drive home." Henry explained from experience.  
  
"Is this the inn from the dinner with the all the anachronisms?" Paris asked.  
  
"Yeah." Rory assured her.  
  
"Well, will there be a room available?"  
  
"Yeah, don't worry, my mom set aside a whole wing for any Chilton guests, you'll have plenty of rooms to chose from. And, if not then you can always stay at my house." Rory offered.  
  
"Although, you might not be at your house." Henry reminded her. "We might have a little after party at the inn." he explained to Paris. "Nothing loud or anything, just something to help us fall asleep. Trust me, when Lorelai is involved there will be a lot of coffee and sugar at the party too."  
  
"Okay, I just have to clear it with my mom first but I think that it'll be okay." Paris answered.  
  
"Great, see you tomorrow then." Henry said.  
  
Rory sighed and tiredly leaned back against the hood of Henry's car as Paris hurried off.  
  
"You need to sleep." Henry said shaking his head.  
  
"I am sleeping." Rory replied sleepily with her eyes closed.  
  
"I meant inside the car."  
  
"Too tired." she mumbled.  
  
Henry sighed and opened the passenger side door. After he tossed his and Rory's backpacks into the backseat he walked around to the front.  
  
"You work yourself too hard." Henry told her. When she didn't respond he sighed again, picked her up and placed her in the car. "But it's all worth it." he said to himself.  
  
He hurriedly closed her door, and got in on the other side. He smiled at her sleeping form as he drove off towards Stars Hollow.  
  
IMPORTANT: I'm having a contest! You can chose Tristan's nickname! Originality is expected. The winner gets an advance copy of chapter 10 (lame prize but give me a break). Be sure to review and include the nickname and your email address. Keep in mind that if I don't see an entry I like, no one will win and I'll be forced to come up with something myself. Good luck all! Oh, and wish me luck on my finals next week! 


	10. A Party, Proposal, and...a Pony?

Author's Note: Okay, after much debate I have come up with a nickname, so read on to find out! That, and the BIG decision that I talked about earlier will be revealed in this chapter. Please be kind and review!  
  
P.S.- Thank you to those of you who wished me good luck on my finals, I didn't think any of you actually would so it means a lot to me.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
"Hey, Tris! Happy birthday!" Rory greeted.  
  
Tristan smiled.  
  
"Hey. Wow, when you say 11 you really mean eleven don't you?" Tristan said as he looked down at his watch. It was eleven on the dot.  
  
"Well, I figured, I could have been late but that would be too cruel considering the circumstances." Rory said gently.  
  
"Thanks, so let's get going." he said enthusiastically, closing the door behind him.  
  
They walked to the Jeep. "So," Tristan asked coyly, "where's my birthday present?"  
  
"Oh, gee I forgot that part. Darn it all!" Rory said in mock disappointment.  
  
"Well, I can think of ways you can make it up to me." he said wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.  
  
"I'm sure you can and yet, I'm not in a giving mood right now." Rory said thoughtfully, playing along.  
  
"Oh, I'm hurt." Tristan joked as they got into the car.  
  
"You'll get your gift. Eventually."  
  
  
  
A few hours later…  
  
"Okay Mare, I think I found the problem." Tristan said as he slammed the hood of the Jeep down. It was dark out and the only light came from the flashlight that Rory 'just happened to have.'  
  
"Okay, what?" Rory asked.  
  
"See, there's this thing called gas that is kind of necessary to ensure a properly functioning car." he said sarcastically.  
  
"Well, how was I supposed to know we'd run out?" Rory asked. ~God, I deserve an Emmy for this~  
  
"The little gauge, you know the one that was slowly pointing to empty. In fact I recall at least five times today that I asked you to stop and fill up on gas." he said sarcastically as he leaned up against the hood.  
  
"Well, I thought we'd have enough to make it back home." Rory explained as she walked around the car and stood next to him.  
  
"Okay," he said facing her, "what do you suggest we do now?"  
  
"We'll walk into town, its not that far, should take us like twenty minutes."  
  
"What about the Jeep?" Tristan asked gesturing to the car for emphasis.  
  
Rory shrugged. "We'll head to Luke's and use his phone to call a tow truck." Rory started walking towards town as Tristan opened and closed his mouth at a loss for words. How could she just LEAVE a CAR behind!? "Coming?" Rory asked sweetly.  
  
Tristan immediately replaced the confused look for his usual cool attitude and ran to catch up to her. "Ya know Mare, if you wanted to get me to walk with you, alone, in the dark, with no one around," he whispered into her ear, "you could have just asked."  
  
"But that would take all the fun out of it." Rory said sarcastically.  
  
Tristan was worried she was mad but relaxed when he saw her smiling. He returned the gesture.  
  
"So, how has your birthday been so far DuGrey?" Rory asked. ~Fifteen minutes away~ she thought.  
  
"Well all things considered, it's been great. I got to spend the day around town with a beautiful girl," Rory blushed at the comment, "who, in addiction to having great looks, has enough intelligence to hold a conversation."  
  
"Definite change of pace for ya huh?" Rory teased.  
  
"As a matter of fact yes." Tristan answered.  
  
~Ten minutes!~ Rory could barely wait. She was beaming just at the thought of seeing his face light up.  
  
"Well, you know, you're birthday isn't over yet." Rory reminded him.  
  
"Oh no! What have you planned for me now? Let's see, there was the movie, the trip to the mall, making fun of those overly obsessive teeny boppers at the music store…"  
  
"I'm laughing just thinking about that!" Rory interrupted.  
  
Tristan continued. "There was the game of tag in the park, something very un-DuGrey like I must say…"  
  
"Wouldn't want to ruin your image." Rory noted jokingly.  
  
"The countless stops for coffee."  
  
"Hey, it's just as necessary as oxygen!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Tristan looked over enjoyed the look on her face. She was happy, genuinely happy…with him. ~Man, things change.~ he commented silently.  
  
"I have to say, that this has been the happiest day of my life." he said as they entered town.  
  
~Why is it so dark?~  
  
"Well, its gonna get better." Rory whispered.  
  
"What do you mean? And why is it so dark?" Tristan asked looking around blindly in the night.  
  
"Let's just say, this is my birthday present to you."  
  
"What, being alone in the dark with me?" he said seductively in her ear.  
  
"No," she whispered as his voice sent shivers down her spine, "my gift to you is giving you something your parents should have."  
  
He looked at her in confusion barely able to make out her face in the near darkness save the flashlight. As if on cue every light in Stars Hollow came back on.  
  
"SURPRISE!!!" came a tremendous shout.  
  
Tristan nearly stumbled back from the shock. In front of his eyes stood the entire population of Stars Hollow. There were strings of lights covering everything, not an inch was spared, Lorelai's handiwork of course. Blue and white streamers started at the gazebo but were strung outward giving a slight tent effect. A large banner hung from two trees saying "Happy Birthday Tristan!" in blue letters. There were tables of food filled with delights that looked too good to eat, Sookie had gone overboard despite Rory's request not to, and there in the center of it all, a dance floor. It looked much like Lorelai's engagement party, she had even suggested purple as a main color because of her fondness for the color but Rory had put her foot down on that one claiming that blue would be a better choice. It looked like a dream. He was trying to register what was happening in his mind.  
  
"Happy birthday Tristan." Rory whispered as the town came up to meet the two.  
  
Tristan was speechless, all he could do was give her his famous smile as the town surrounded them. She returned the smile and took a few steps back to blend with the crowd  
  
"Happy birthday doll!" Babette shouted as she threw her arms around him in a hug.  
  
"Such a handsome young man, Happy Birthday Tristan!" Miss Patty greeted by placing a kiss on his cheek.  
  
"Hey kid, Happy Birthday." Luke said giving him a pat on the back then taking a step back to let others say their greetings.  
  
Luke, Lorelai, and Rory watched from a short distance as the town showered him with their well wishes. Slowly Jess and Lane joined them in watching. Henry stood behind the crowd a bit, unsure and nervous about greeting Tristan. A few other Chiltonites had already gone up and said hello to Tristan, a shock to him to say the least, but Henry just watched.  
  
"Okay, everyone! Let's get this party started by digging in to this huge and expensive dinner that Sookie made for us!" Lorelai shouted at the top of her lungs.  
  
The crowd slowly dispersed and headed towards the table, ready to start the evening off right. Rory went over to Henry.  
  
"Don't be afraid." she whispered taking his arm and leading him to Tristan who was hugging Paris.  
  
"Hi Paris." Rory greeted the blond who let go and gave a small smile in return.  
  
"Happy birthday, Tris." Henry said quietly.  
  
"Henry." Tristan breathed.  
  
"We'll leave you alone." Rory said quickly. She nodded her head towards Paris and the two set off towards the buffet lines.  
  
Once the two girls were out of earshot Henry spoke.  
  
"How are you doing?" he asked mentally cursing himself for sounding so lame.  
  
"Pretty good I guess. So, I heard you're going out with Lane now." Tristan said shifting his weight from one foot to another in nervousness, though he didn't know why. DuGrey's don't get nervous.  
  
"Yeah, I few months now."  
  
"Good."  
  
There was an awkward silence between the two.  
  
"I'm sorry." they said simultaneously. They both let out a few laughs.  
  
"Look," they both started again.  
  
"You go first." Henry offered.  
  
"Thanks, listen, Hen, I'm so sorry about these past two years. I don't know what happened." he said sadly.  
  
"We grew apart. It's understandable."  
  
"Yeah, but it's not acceptable. Henry, you're the only one who I know was my friend for me, not for my image."  
  
Henry nodded. "It's not all your fault. A good part of it is mine."  
  
"Well, I'm willing to fix things if you are?" Tristan asked hopefully holding out his hand.  
  
"Hey, friends for life." Henry took the hand. They laughed again and hugged.  
  
Henry nodded his head towards the party, "Let's go party!"  
  
Tristan smiled. "So what are you doing here? What are Jake and Callie and all of our old friends doing here? How did they know?"  
  
"Rory." Henry said as they got to the end of the food line and starting piling their plates. "She planned everything."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, by yesterday she was ready to pass out from exhaustion, in fact she did. She wanted me to be here and to bring a few Chiltonites, but not the evil ones as she called them."  
  
"That sounds like Rory." Tristan laughed.  
  
He looked over and saw her sitting at a table with Lane, Jess, Lorelai, and Luke. Emily and Richard sat next to Lorelai looking surprisingly like they were having a good time. Paris sat on the on the other side of Rory, cracking smile every now and then. Finally to fill the last two seats of the table were Sookie and Jackson. They were all laughing about something. It brought a smile to his face when she put her head down in laughter and then looked back up, tossing her hair over her shoulder in the process.  
  
"Tris, come on!" Henry called.  
  
Tristan snapped out of his stupor and followed Henry to their table. He was slightly disappointed to see that they weren't sitting at Rory's table but instead were with his old friends.  
  
"Rory set it up this way." Henry whispered. "She wanted you to get reacquainted with us."  
  
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, faking confusion.  
  
"DuGrey, I know what you're thinking. I may not have hung around you for the last two years but I've known you since kindergarten." Henry answered.  
  
Tristan laughed and shook his head. After a half an hour of talk and food they moved on to dessert. The tables had been forgotten and now guests just carried around their after dinner delights in order to mingle. Tristan had yet to cross paths with Rory.  
  
'Hey, wonder boy."  
  
"Hey, Jess." Tristan said turning around to find the owner of the voice.  
  
"Have a seat." Jess said gesturing to the bench behind him. They both sat down enjoying the cake Sookie had made. "Having a good time?" Jess asked.  
  
"Yeah, this is amazing. Rory is unbelievable." Tristan answered between bites.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"How did she rope the whole town into this?" Tristan asked amazed.  
  
Jess laughed. "Because she is heir to the throne, the current princess of Stars Hollow. You're dealing with royalty here pal."  
  
"What?!" Tristan exclaimed curiously.  
  
"Well, it's a well known fact that the town practically centers around the Gilmore Girls. They have the entire population wrapped around their coffee grabbing fingers."  
  
"Okay, continue."  
  
"Well Lorelai is like the official queen of Stars Hollow and Rory is next in line."  
  
"Who's king, Luke?"  
  
"Well yes, by fear only. Although soon it will be official," he added quietly, "See, Taylor thinks he rules the town but Luke, Lorelai, and Rory are above the law so to speak."  
  
Tristan shook his head in amusement. "Small town politics."  
  
"Yup, crazy, especially this town."  
  
"Wouldn't have it any other way though. So, Rory just asked everyone if they wanted to throw me a party?"  
  
"Basically. She brought a few of us into it to plan but she pretty much did it by herself. She even calculated how much driving she would have to do to make sure you guys ran out of gas just outside of town."  
  
"Oh man," Tristan snorted, "I almost forgot about that. She planned that?!"  
  
"Planned what?" Rory said coming up behind them.  
  
"Nothing Mare." Tristan assured her.  
  
Rory opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when they heard Lorelai's voice. She stood in the center of it all, talking through Kirk's bullhorn.  
  
"Bring out the pony!" she squealed happily.  
  
"Oh no! How did she sneak that by me?" Rory sighed heading in that direction. Tristan and Jess followed a few steps behind her.  
  
"Water polo anyone?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory took off in order to save the innocent pony from her mother's crazy schemes.  
  
"Lane was right, you do throw some interesting parties." Tristan mused.  
  
It had been an hour since Rory had called up the trainers to take the pony away much to Lorelai's chagrin. The party was in full swing and nearly half the female population had approached Tristan to dance. Luke looked over at Lorelai. To him she looked heavenly with one cup of coffee in her hand as she talked with her mother. The night brought out a good side to everyone that night so instead of fighting the mother and daughter were having a pleasant conversation. Luke hated to pull Lorelai away but after a reassuring wink from Richard, who knew and approved of the proposal, he approached the women.  
  
"Excuse me Mrs. Gilmore but could I possibly steal your daughter away for the moment?" he asked politely.  
  
"Well of course Luke." Emily answered pleasantly.  
  
"What is this about?" Lorelai asked as Luke pulled her up to the gazebo, grabbing a mike from the band along the way.  
  
"You'll see." he whispered softly in her ear. Turning back towards the crowd Luke spoke into the mike.  
  
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Everyone stopped what he or she were doing and crowded around the gazebo. Rory and Jess stood in front giving each other excited looks. Once everyone was silent he continued.  
  
"Thank you. Okay this is for Lorelai but I thought that maybe you would want to hear it to since I know this town and I know it's better to hear something in person than from the gossip hotline." There were a few laughs and then Luke turned to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I have loved you since I could remember. You drove me nuts with your crazy schemes and unhealthy coffee obsession but I loved you. It nearly crushed me when you almost married Max because I thought I had lost you. I thought it was too late and I kicked myself for not telling you my feelings sooner. There was only one person who I loved besides you, and that was Rachel. As much as I hate to admit it, she made me afraid of falling in love. That's why I tried to make myself hate the idea of marriage. But being with you made me see that marriage is not a bureaucratic civil ceremony, and it's not about signing our lives away and sticking ourselves in little boxes. I meant what I said before about people growing and evolving, the only difference now is that I want to grow, with you." Lorelai and a few other women in the crowd were crying at this point. "What I'm trying to say is, I love you, more than I could possible express. Lorelai Gilmore," he began getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring, "will you marry me?"  
  
Lorelai let out a sob and fell to her knees in front of him. "You wanna be ducks?" she asked in a childlike voice.  
  
"What?" Luke asked getting worried that she was trying to change the subject.  
  
"That day, when you said all those things about marriage you said that humans weren't supposed to mate for life with the exception of ducks, and I quote you said 'who the hell cares what ducks do?' So are you asking me to be your duck?" she asked in the same voice.  
  
Luke laughed. "Yes Lorelai."  
  
"Aw, you wanna be ducks!" she said in a teary voice.  
  
"So, Lorelai Gilmore, will you be my duck?" he asked with a nervous smile.  
  
She let out a happy squeal and threw her arms around his neck.  
  
"Is that a yes?" he asked laughing.  
  
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Quack, quack!"  
  
Luke wiped away a tear of his own as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She wiped away her own and pulled him in for a kiss. Rory and Jess hugged excitedly before running up the steps of the gazebo and hugging the two adults who had finally pulled back from the kiss.  
  
"I'm going to get married!" Lorelai squealed as she hugged her daughter and jumped down to hug Sookie.  
  
'Lorelai, are you going to go through with it this time?" Emily said with a stern look on her face.  
  
Lorelai tensed up slightly. "Yes." she said bravely.  
  
Emily broke into a smile and hugged her daughter. "Good."  
  
When the two Gilmores pulled back Emily had tears running down her face.  
  
After much celebrating and congratulating everyone calmed down enough for the band to play a slow song in honor of the recently engaged couple. As Luke and Lorelai took the floor Tristan walked over to Rory.  
  
"So, I take it you knew what Luke was planning?" Tristan asked her as he sat down on a bench beside her.  
  
"Yeah, for the past few days. Jess and I knew but were sworn to secrecy. The only other person who knew was my Grandpa." Rory looked dreamily over at her "parents". "They make each other so happy."  
  
Tristan looked at her. "I haven't had a dance with my Mary yet."  
  
"Is that a request, DuGrey?" Rory asked coyly.  
  
"Only if the answer is yes. If not then this conversation never happened."  
  
Rory just stood up and walked towards the floor. "Coming?"  
  
Tristan smiled and walked over. Then he pulled her closer to his body, as her arms wrapped around his neck his snaked around her waist.  
  
"So have you thought of a nickname yet?" Tristan asked as they slowly swayed to the music.  
  
"Actually, yes. After a lot of thought and consideration I have thought of an appropriate nickname for you."  
  
"Well?" he asked waiting for her to say it. "I'm dying of curiosity,"  
  
"Okay, well, at first I thought, how about Romeo, it kind of fits what with you being the ladies man and all," she pulled back to see his rich boy smirk, "but then I thought, your ego is big enough without me calling you that."  
  
"Okay." Tristan said flirtatiously.  
  
"Then I thought, what about Joey?"  
  
"Joey?"  
  
"Yeah, short for Joseph. You know Mary and Joseph, but then I thought, no I need to think of something more creative than Bible references."  
  
"Okay so what did you choose?"  
  
"Mac." Rory announced proudly.  
  
"Mac?!" Tristan asked confused. "Where did you get that from?"  
  
"From the Irish god of youth, beauty, and love."  
  
"Really, tell me more about this guy." Tristan said interested.  
  
"Well, he had a harp that made irresistible music and he had this fairy palace called a brugh located on the banks of the Boyne River."  
  
"Really? I'm liking the sound of that."  
  
"It gets better. His kisses turned into birds that carried messages of love."  
  
"Okay, okay." Tristan said nodding in approval.  
  
"His full name is Angus Mac Og which means "young son." I didn't like the idea of calling you Angus so instead I settled on the second best thing, Mac." Rory finished happily.  
  
" Genius. I actually like the name, you definitely did your research."  
  
"Yeah, well. I wanted something that described you perfectly. I'm taking a risk here because that is also very ego boosting. It's basically another way of saying Romeo."  
  
"Yeah but this one doesn't carry the connotations that Romeo does." Tristan pointed out.  
  
"Hm, well noted. So happy?" Rory asked hopefully.  
  
"Definitely. Mac and Mary it is."  
  
They were silent for a few seconds.  
  
"Hey Ror?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Thank you." he said sincerely.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For all of this. The party and for fixing things with Henry and I. Not to mention all my other old friends. You didn't have to do this, I didn't give you any reason and yet, you did. How can I repay you?"  
  
"How about you stop being when Evil Tristan I'm around?"  
  
Tristan laughed. "Deal."  
  
"Are you mad that no one else from Chilton came?" Rory asked biting her lip.  
  
"No, I'm relieved actually. Without them around I was able to act like myself. Besides could you imagine them coming here?!"  
  
"No, but people will surprise you." she said resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes.  
  
"Hey Mary? Thanks again." Tristan said gently.  
  
"You're welcome, Mac." she replied.  
  
  
  
"Call it." Jess said looking over at Tristan and Rory.  
  
"7:45 PM, Stars Hollow officially adopts Tristan DuGrey." Lane said with a smile as she snuggled deeper into Henry's embrace.  
  
"Want to dance?" Henry offered. Lane nodded and they joined the other couples on the dance floor.  
  
Jess looked around, he was now alone. Then a certain blond caught his eye.  
  
"Care to dance?" Jess asked. Seeing her skeptical face he continued. "Just a dance, nothing more."  
  
"Okay, sure." Paris answered.  
  
  
  
Lorelai and Luke stayed on the floor as the one song ended and another slow song followed.  
  
"I can't believe how magical this place looks. It's like a dream." Lorelai sighed happily.  
  
"I love you." Luke said looking in her eyes.  
  
"I love you too." she replied.  
  
"Hey, look over there." Luke said pointing her to Rory and Tristan.  
  
"They like each other." Lorelai mused.  
  
"Yup." Luke agreed.  
  
"How do you know?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Because of the way he looks at her. It's the same look I had when I first met you. It's the look you wear when you love someone but you're trying to convince yourself not to love them."  
  
"You didn't want to love me?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I didn't want to get hurt." he answered quietly.  
  
"Same here." Lorelai agreed. "You can tell she likes him, she wouldn't have gone through all of this for someone she doesn't like."  
  
Lorelai's eyes suddenly went wide with excitement.  
  
"Oh no. What are you planning?" Luke asked tiredly.  
  
"They like each other right? It's obvious they belong together so…"  
  
"So?" Luke asked irritably.  
  
"We're going to set them up." Lorelai finished proudly.  
  
Luke began to object but decided against it. "Okay, sure. No use in arguing."  
  
"Yay! This is why I love you!" she exclaimed giving him a kiss.  
  
Luke just nodded and smiled.  
  
"Hey Luke?" Lorelai said in her childlike voice again.  
  
She gave him a pleading look and he knew that whatever it was there was no way he could refuse.  
  
"Yes? What do you want?" he asked. Time stopped around them as the music and happy voices faded away. All he saw was Lorelai. He couldn't believe how much she had changed him, how much he loved her, how much he wanted to marry her. She looked at him with a mischievous grin. That only meant that she wanted one thing…  
  
"Coffee please?"  
  
THE END!!!  
  
IMPORTANT: Thank you all! I wanted to write about the inn and the rest of the party but I felt like this was a good place to end it. Yes that is the end but I'll tell you why. By the time I figured out what I wanted to do, the story was already have over and had somehow developed a plot on its own, so instead of combining two stories into one I wrote a sequel. So FIVE REVEIWS by today at 8 o'clock PM, that's 11 for ya'll on the east coast and I post the sequel tomorrow. TEN REVIEWS by then and I post tonight! So that was my important decision, please respect it. I hope that ya'll didn't mind the nickname. I'm sorry that nobody officially won but I just didn't see anything that really got my attention. Oh well, please review! 


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